PrivateTim

Whether or not Jackson is actually gay or not remains to be seen, but at this point in the story I don't think he even remotely considers himself gay. Luke has stirred some feelings in him that appear to be brand new, although we don't know if he'd even done any experimentation with Derek or Toby, or someone else before. That certainly wouldn't be unusual for teen boys as they get hormonal, huge numbers do, but the vast majority do identify as straight, despite the wandering. The swim team is sure different from any swim team I was ever on. There was never a set limit on how many guys were in a team. In a bigger team they might divide into upper and lower groups based on times and abilities, but the groups were always flexible, not rigid numbers. It should be interesting. Lastly, is there any chance Jackson won't drink at Toby's party? Won't make an ass of himself? That too should be interesting.

Nose clip? No one wears a nose clip unless you are in an SNL comedy skit. As to shaving down, you never shave down until you get to a qualifying meet that leads to a final. I do get a slightly creepy vibe from the Garrison's too, but since Krista isn't Mark Arbour I am sure nothing will come of it 😁

High school girlfriends are scary things. They are completely paranoid, insanely possessive, insanely clingy and hell on wheels when scorned. Mean Girls doesn't even start to cover it when they sense a threat. Jackson needs to be at a high school party and mack on some other girl in front of Ally so she won't concentrate on Luke. I played this game really well in high school.

Losing the scholarship doesn't mean he loses his university admission or that he can't be on the team, it merely means he needs to find a different way to finance his education. The better DI swim programs have 30-35 swimmers on their roster and there are only 9.9 scholarships allowed by the NCAA. That means there are very few DI college swimmer on full ride scholarships. It is an ego blow, but should not be a major derailment.

If I was Jackson I'd create a fake gmail account and send Welker an email that Jackson was seeing his daughter to get Allison off his back. She is a pain, better to cut her off at the knees now before Jack gets weak, tells her he likes Luke and then she outs Luke to the whole school. Surely Jack must realize the consequences of Luke being outed before the end of the school year. I don't think Henry would let Cindy kick Luke out of the house, but it remains a possibility.

For 65,000 to 70,000 words, Jackson is the dumbest mudderfudger I've ever seen in my life and then he busts out with this: “I can’t be gay,” he said falling silent. “I can’t be.” “Just be Luke,” I said reaching out for him. “Be Luke and I’ll be Jackson.” Yes! Why can't it be that simple? Why does everyone need labels so badly? In two of my favorite stories, It Started With Brian and Crosscurrents, both based on true events, men who are not gay, allow themselves to fall in love with and be with a gay man. Apropos of nothing specific in this story, but some hints of maybe, but are staples of gay fiction, here are my three biggest pet peeves. 1) Christians (church people) are virulently anti-gay, sometimes violently so - I've been a Christian and church goer my whole life and still attend church with my partner to whom I am legally married. We are intimately involved in the church and welcomed. 2) Two boys in love are incapable of hiding their love for each other and everyone will know - No one in middle school or high school ever suspected I was anything but the straightest boy in the school and the same went for the many boys I'd been with and shared feelings with. 3) A gay/bi boy can't shower with other naked boys 'cuz he'll pop wood - I started playing skin flute with neighbor boys and a cousin when I was 12 and none of us ever popped wood in the showers despite the fact that we looked.

OMG Stanfurd isn't even a full university, it is right there IN THEIR NAME, Leland Stanfurd, JUNIOR UNIVERSITY 🤣

Jackson is a major league asshole and his mother is a saint to have put up with his crap for so long. I don't think she and her husband were neglectful, I think like many parents with only one child they were indulgent. No. If my best friends were urging/leading me to do what I know is wrong, they would not get many more chances to stay my best friends. What have any of the "church people" done to anyone in this story to justify calling them "harpies" or losers, as has been done? The only losers in this story so far are Jackson and his friends.

He has shown signs when he and Luke slept together and his morning wood lasted longer than normal and Jack even worried if his tenting the covers was noticeable. I am glad they kissed and I am glad Jack returned the kiss, especially since he appeared to do it to keep Luke calm and from panicking.

I never mentioned Will’s priorities, I said his "interests", which is different. Everyone I know, and certainly in Will's universe of The Menlo School and Harvard-Westlake, has an idea of what they want to do in the future. Those plans have probably changed every other year since the age of ten, and may change three more times in college, and again once he starts a career, but at least people do have thoughts to the future and choosing where to go to college is an important part of that. When I was a senior, if you wanted to be an architect, you went to Cal Poly SLO or USC; a filmmaker, USC, UCLA or Chapman; a doctor, UCSD, UCI or Stanford; winemaker, UC Davis; a business major, USC, ASU and Harvard; and so on. Future plans did effect school choice as did things like if you played sports, if you wanted the Big Football School experience (USC, Cal, UCLA), small school experience (Claremont Colleges, Occidental, St. Mary's, etc) or religious (Azusa Pacific, Pepperdine, Cal Lutheran, etc) and lastly, what your family could afford. But I'd say the #1 driver was future plans.

Stylistically I wonder about several things: “You church people,” I hissed, rolling my eyes. “You make my high school sound like a, well I don’t know, but it’s not that bad. I have enough fun there and no one gets hurt.” In a small town, the name of the high school is most likely the name of the town, so why wouldn't Jack say, "Westerville High (or what ever the name of the school is) isn't that bad" vs "my high school". If Cindy and Luke's mom are best friends, and they go to church together, surely Jack would have gone to church as a kid and maybe be allowed to stop going at a certain age. And in small towns, a lot of times churches are the glue that holds together a town, and more people go to church than not, whether or not they are actual believers. So wouldn't Luke and Jack have known each other as kids? Done family BBQs, etc together? They might have become estranged after Jack stopped going to church, but they still would have had a history of some sort.

How did you have any respect for Jack to begin with? He's been an ass since the story's first paragraph. I actually think on a subconscious level Jack is afraid to have Luke in school with him. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind there is the question of why he had morning wood for so long when Luke was around. No mystery why Luke would ever speak to Jackson again, he likes Jack. He may not fully understand how or why (or maybe he is more aware than we know), but he likes Jack warts and all.

It is one thing to be in Boston for a week when it is cold, but when the first snow falls in October and is still around in April.... it gets old pretty fast.

What's up with Jackson's mom? How about she has a son Jackson who is a spoiled complete ass-wipe who hasn't had to face enough consequences for his actions and attitudes in the past and now she is realizing that leniency didn't work. Jackson's mom is a pussycat compared to Luke's mom.

The thing that has never been discussed is what Will's future plans on. He has never mentioned any hobbies or interests besides fucking (which becomes old at some point) and surfing (which he already rejected as a career). To me Harvard is good for four things, Law, Medicine, Politics & Government and Business (MBA). I don't see any reason to go to Harvard to get a degree in any other field.

It is more like, "Okay, gag and barf. Almost similar words were exchanged with (fill in name) and Will and similar pledge."

That was a movie you know.... not real life like CAP. 🤣

Despite going to hundreds of sporting events, NFL, NCAA, NHL, MLB, NBA, Pro Rodeo.... never once did I feel a need to have sex in a bathroom, despite being a horny teen. As to Roger, I like him, but he still has LOTS of baggage. If I was JP, I'd want to be sure Roger was healthy before we got seriously involved.

Will should go to UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography and you know it. One of the best, if not the best school of oceanography in the world. Will can surf every day, troll Black's Beach, and study a subject he loves. But whatever he does, Harvard is not the right place for him. It might be okay for Marie.

“Casey noted that I had relationships with a lot of different dudes, but they were all pretty unique, and they really didn’t spill over into how I felt about the other guys,” I said. “It’s like each relationship is in its own little box.” Will has enough little fucking boxes for a full scale replica of the Great Wall of China. “I think he also knows it’s going to be really tough if we try to operate like a married couple, and he wants us to think about that.” What does "operate like a married couple" mean? No boundaries on who you fuck? No commitment? Why bother even calling it a relationship? If people cannot control their baser instincts, then we are throwing 5000 years of civilization down the drain. What was the point of the fight for gay marriage if commitment isn't part of the deal? Tax benefits? This sounds like Will's dream of having his cake and eating it too. Lastly, maybe Will can't control his dick, but lots of guys can. What happens when one partner is content with just the other, but the partner (looking at you Matt) is not? Do you not love someone enough to sacrifice your self indulgence? I would argue that isn't love.

Not in CA in general and especially not in Santa Cruz in a house with no other houses close by. Nice to see Billy take a walk on the wild side. I remember what happens in this book. I just don't remember how we get there.

“He's a predator. He likes to fuck around with other guys boyfriends.” Possibly the most ironic line in CAP history, said by the Predator of Chronicles of an Academic Predator. Why are people blaming Jake for hooking up with Sam, when it is the adult who bears the responsibility in a relationship with a child. If Jake came on to Sam, all Sam had to say was "no, I am in a relationship, you shouldn't even ask" and maybe young, impressionable Jake would have learned something. And even though Jake knew Brad liked Robbie, they were not boyfriends and all Robbie had to say was no, if he didn't want to have sex with him. It takes two people to have sex and few things piss me off more than when I would hook up with a guy and then after he got off wanted to blame me for having sex with him. It's like, dude, you could have said no. “I knew you when you were 16. You were a flawed person then, just like now,” JP said, teasing and lightening up the mood, “but you never showed his mercenary disregard for others. You have always had a conscience. I don't believe he does.” Jake's life has been completely fucked up since meeting these people. They have known Jake for all of two months now and Jake's life has completely gone to hell since then. EVERY main character in this story is flawed, some more than others and EVERY main character in this story, at one time or another has shown a mercenary disregard for others. Who the hell are they to judge Jake. They helped create the mess he is, it is up to them to try and fix him. I am pretty sure they had psychologists in 1980. They need to get Jake to one and then most of them need a spot of the couch right behind him.

Hate Jake? Why would anyone hate Jake? He is just a 16 year old kid. But for Brad's selfishness, he never would have been in Claremont at all, but Brad wanted what Brad wanted, just like he always does. And who is Brad anyway to flip all this morality shit on Jake to begin with? Brad wants to pick and choose his own moral code, but if he gets to, everyone gets to. If he can judge Jake for being with Sam, then Brenda can judge him and Robbie. And with Jake and Sam, it isn't Jake who is in the wrong, it is Sam, the adult. And if Jake moved to LA and got in either Greg's or Stef's pants and it caused problems between Greg and Stef, that is on them. They are the adults who are supposed to have self control and wisdom and all that.

Have I mentioned before that I think Brad is a selfish asshole? Perhaps not, so I'll say it here, Brad is a selfish asshole. He isn't trying to help Robbie, he is trying to help himself. There is ZERO excuse for outing Frank's and JP's relationship, none whatsoever. They should have stayed at Escorial and sorted things out. If Robbie really didn't want to go I don't think Frank would have forced him. But all Brad cares about is what Brad wants. He is a double asshole for betraying JP's confidence, after all that JP has done for him.

Yeah, sorry, but Brad is still a selfish asshole. He supposedly "loves" Robbie now, but he is going to treat him like shit because he may have to move, partly because Brad kissed Robbie in front of his parents because Brad is still a selfish asshole and he wanted to do it, for himself, without thinking of anyone else or possible repercussions. I'll have more to say later in some of the sadness to come.